A Day At The Beach
by Francine2869
Summary: Just a one shot about Theresa and Ethan almost meeting years before at the beach during summer in Harmony.


**A Day At The Beach **

_I just had a flash of inspiration today and wrote this in one sitting. Please enjoy and feedback is appreciated!_

As they sat on the beach Ethan could hear music drifting down to them from a group of teens off in the distance. It was one of the first really warm days of the summer and the lure of the ocean had been too much to resist so he had taken the day off work and convinced Gwen to accompany him. She now lay on her stomach on a towel beside him in a new bathing suit (he knew because she'd made sure to tell him it was her latest present from her father in Paris) trying to get an even tan. She'd undone the ties that crossed her back so that they wouldn't leave any marks and Ethan had just finished rubbing the smooth skin with tanning oil. He had been silent for a moment until the music had caught his attention and he squinted against the bright sun at the group down the beach. They were far enough that he couldn't see faces but there seemed to be 3 boys tossing around a football while 5 girls sat on a blanket and were setting up a picnic from a couple of large baskets. Once in a while a voice or a laugh would drift over but he couldn't make out any of the conversations. As he glanced over at Gwen again and saw that her eyes were closed and her back was moving rhythmically in the deep breathing of sleep he settled himself in a crossed leg position and cracked open the law textbook he'd brought with him. Even if he had taken the day off work at Crane, he needed to keep up his studies if he was going to keep up to Grandfather's expectations. He had months before he was to head back to school but he had no intention of allowing the time to go by while he forgot what he had learned the year before. It also helped him while he clerked at the legal division of Crane and it made him feel less like they'd put him there only because he was a Crane. He had pride enough to want to excel in his field and after all, he did like the law. He liked justice and ensuring fairness and equality, something he had known (even as a child) was overlooked by many of his wealthy, privileged family and friends.

He heard a shout and lifted his eyes to see the football the 3 boys had been playing with come to land about 6 feet in front of him. A Latino male jogged towards him with a smile that Ethan returned. He could see the boy slow down as he reached the football and he gave Ethan a strange look as he picked it up, one Ethan would have almost called pitying. And as the boy jogged off towards his friends again, throwing the ball as he went, Ethan realized that the boy had probably been waiting for him to pick up the ball and throw it back. That's what a _normal_ teenager would have done. As he watched the group of teens settle on the blankets and enjoy their lunch he wondered what it was like. To have a certain level of anonymity, especially in a small town like Harmony. Here (and mostly everywhere else) everyone knew who the Cranes were and even though he was only in town for a few months a year his picture was always in the society pages and he was sure that most of the residents knew who he was and all of the pertinent details (where he went to school, who he was dating, what his career aspirations were etc.). He felt awkward whenever he ventured downtown while he was home because he didn't know any of the locals and he couldn't join into any of the existing groups. In short, he always felt like a visitor, a tourist, even though this was supposed to be his hometown. He suspected that was why Gwen preferred to spend the summers in wealthier communities like the Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard so that they could meet up with friends, eat in fancy restaurants and shop in sophisticated stores. Not like Harmony where The Seascape was considered a fancy establishment but still had all-you-can-eat wings on Wednesday nights and the priciest clothing stores sold Paris knockoffs in last season's colors. He'd taken Gwen shopping once, thinking they'd enjoy out in the town together but she had complained so much over the limited selection of stores and loud crowd at the restaurant for lunch that he had cut the trip short and resigned himself to spending the afternoon at the mansion… as they did most of the weekends while they were in town, unless requested (or ordered) to attend an official function on behalf of his family.

His attention was drawn down the beach again as one of the girls shrieked and scrambled up from the blanket yelling at one of the males in Spanish. The boy who had chased down the football earlier started laughing and got up to follow her down the beach until she chased him into the water. He watched as they splashed each other in the shallow waves, her dark hair swinging in the sunlight. He wondered for a moment if the strands would be hot because of the sun or cold because of the water. If he touched her skin, how soft would it be? Time seemed to slow as he watched her laugh and play with the boy he was assuming was her brother. She wasn't tall, but the presence she gave off seemed to make her larger than life. He could see her large smile and felt a sudden desire to see what color her eyes were. Did they become warmer in the sunlight? Her arms and legs were long and lean and her skin was deeply tanned and she appeared to glow in her bright blue bikini. The sun shone through the water splashing around her and formed a nimbus that sparkled and formed a colorful aura. He knew that it was just the effect of the sunlight shining through the water droplets but for a moment he allowed himself to stop thinking and just focus on how beautiful the girl was on this hot summer day.

A burst of music from the shore drew his attention (reluctantly) back to the larger group where someone had turned up the music on their small, portable radio. They were all getting up to dance, not breaking into couples (which wouldn't have been possible with the numbers the way they were) but more dancing in a group. Their dancing was full of lose, uncomplicated movements and they weren't sticking to any one style. It just looked like fun, like a day at the beach with friends was supposed to be. He glanced over at Gwen again, noting that he should wake her up soon before her back got too much sun. He had a sudden, intense urge to go and join the impromptu party he was witnessing. For once he wasn't too nervous about whether they would accept him or not and he wasn't thinking about what someone who saw them would think of a Crane 'hanging out' with the locals. He wasn't even thinking about what would happen if news of his activities got back to his father and grandfather. He put his law book to the side and shifted his legs, starting to get up. Gwen's voice from beside him stopped him in his tracks.

"Ethan, honey? Where are you going?"

"Gwen, I thought you were asleep, I was going to… uh… get us some drinks from the snack-stand behind us."

She shook her head as she sat up and deftly tied the strings of her bikini behind her back.

"I don't want lukewarm, flat soda in a paper cup. Let's go back to the mansion and have cook make us a snack."

As she started to gather her towel up he sat there trying not to give into the urge to look down the beach and find the girl again. Gwen shot him an expectant look so he reluctantly got up and gathered his own towel, book and shoes before they trudged through the hot sand to his car. It was waiting in the only bit of shade they had been able to find along the long road that rand the length of the beach. They placed their items in the backseat and buckled themselves in before he pulled out and sped down the highway, wishing that his afternoon off had consisted of a picnic lunch, lukewarm soda and dancing on the beach with friends.

* * *

Theresa watched as the guy and girl gathered their stuff and headed towards the street where their car must be parked. The woman strode confidently ahead in a bathing suit Theresa swore she had seen in the latest fashion magazine from Paris while the man walked slower behind her and Theresa had a sense that he was going to turn and look back at her. Not just at the beach, the water or the waves, but at her. She thought she'd seen him looking at her earlier but she'd been caught up in the water-fight with Miguel and then she was busy dancing with everyone else.

She looked over at her Louis again as he talked to Noah about the police training that he would be starting with Sam Bennett in the fall. It was good to see him happy again, excited about something after his dreams of going to college had been crushed. She wished that she could do something to help, that she could win the lottery or at least hold down a job long enough that Louis didn't worry that she was wasting her life away dreaming of fashion school and working in Paris and London. She was a dreamer, but she was also fully aware of what her family's situation was and she spent many nights desperately trying to think of ways to fix it or things she could do to help. Like any young girl she dreamed of marrying her rich prince and being able to buy anything and everything for her family. Last summer her crush had been on Noah Bennett, a friend of Luis's and the older brother of Miguel's best friend Kay. But then she'd realized that he would probably follow his father into the police force and she didn't think she could handle her husband having a job where he was in danger everyday. And Noah was a good friend but she didn't feel any romantic attraction to him. She'd thought about dating Nathan Kingsley last year at school but decided it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to hide it from her brothers and she didn't really need a boyfriend. This summer she'd been busy having fun with Whitney around town and trying, really trying to find a job that she liked and was good at. It was just so frustrating that Louis was so solid and dependable and good at anything he tried. It was why he was going to make a great cop and also why he as a great brother, no matter how over protective he might be sometimes. Miguel was so charming and friendly that everyone loved him and as a boy he could go out and work on the boats every summer and didn't have to worry about finding a job. She was the only one of their family that seemed to have this problem and sometimes she worried that she'd never settle down and be happy.

As they cleaned up lunch and talk turned to the gossip about other teens in the town Theresa thought back to the young man that she'd seen around town a few times and she felt a tingling in her stomach. Of course she knew who he was, as his family basically owned the town and he was the prodigal son that was always appearing in the society pages. She'd never really given him much thought before but she knew from the stories her mother told that he was a Crane that supposedly had a heart and was gentle and kind. Recently her teenage hormones had started to sit up and take notice whenever a new picture of him appeared and she had found herself collecting them in a shoebox under her bed. She'd never had these types of feelings for another boy and was still slightly confused at the sheer intensity of want and longing she sometimes felt. But as she watched Kay try and bait Miguel to dance with her to a slow song she smiled. This was where she belonged. She liked her friends and, annoying as they could be sometimes, she loved her family. She loved the town she lived in and all of its quirks and oddities. It wouldn't be so bad in the future to marry a hard working man and build a home in their small town like her parents had done. She'd never fit into Ethan Crane's world and it was pointless to try. She was just the housekeeper's daughter and love like that only happened in fairy tales.

Still, she wondered if that had been Ethan and his girlfriend Gwen on the beach earlier and if he'd seen her and wondered about her. She wondered if he would remember her if they ever did meet. Laughing as she saw Noah scoop up his youngest sister to carry her into the waves she joined the rest of the group as they swam away the afternoon and her thoughts and dreams turned to the upcoming summer and the fun that they were sure to have.


End file.
